PORTLAND, Oregon — The cost of fighting wildfires during Oregon's 2024 fire season has now eclipsed $240 million with more than 1.5 million acres burned statewide, Gov. Tina Kotek announced Thursday.
"This is a very expensive fire season," she said, speaking at a media briefing at the Northwest Interagency Coordination Center in Portland. "Because of the hard work of the folks here and all the crews across the state, we have been able to protect a lot of communities, but I can tell you this team, and what we have been doing this season, have been pushed to the brink."
The total of 1.5 million acres burned is more than double the state's 10-year average of 640,000 acres burned per season. The fires have destroyed 32 homes and 99 outbuildings, according to fire officials at the news conference. A dozen large fires continue to burn across the state, and about 6,500 fire personnel are deployed to fight them. Crews have arrived from as far away as Australia and New Zealand to help out.
Kotek said crews are fatigued after battling fires for the better part of two months, and that rain during the past few weeks has helped, but hasn’t alleviated drought conditions in parts of Central and Eastern Oregon.
"Right now, I think we are all feeling good about the humidity and the rain we have been having, but the conditions are still dry," she said. "A day of rain is not going to solve this problem."
Kotek pointed to record-breaking breaking heat in June and July as contributing factors to the aggressive start to Oregon's fire season, and she added that the season is still far from over.
"We do anticipate some additional large events before the end of fire season," she said. "It’s been the norm. We should expect them and be ready for them."
She also encouraged Oregonians who are planning to spent time outdoors over the Labor Day weekend to be extremely careful about their use of outdoor fire.